


Battle Scars

by TheWolfWithinMe



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-19 10:08:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15507762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWolfWithinMe/pseuds/TheWolfWithinMe
Summary: During the year that never was, the Master abuses the Tenth Doctor until he's nothing more than a shell of his former self. Eleven saves him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Summary: During the year that never was, the Master abuses the Tenth Doctor until he's nothing more than a shell of his former self. Eleven comes and saves him.
> 
> Sometimes the person you need the most, is yourself.
> 
> Angst heavy with some fluff/comfort.
> 
> Ten/Eleven with mentions of the Master.

Time can be rewritten.

It wasn't an excuse, per say, but fact. And right now, he /needed/ to rewrite a certain part of his history. It broke every single rule he learned back at the Academy, but young Theta was never one to follow guidelines and adhere to stupid laws, and neither was he, now in his Eleventh carnation.

He had dropped Amy and Rory off at a spa resort, promising to return in exactly two weeks, and told them to call him if any problems arose. Then he was off, dashing into the TARDIS and setting the coordinates for his past. He could feel the timelines shifting, the Universe bending in order to accommodate his plans. If the other Time Lords were alive and in power, they would have stopped him before he could even disappear into the vortex. But they were not and so he was free to manipulate reality.

The TARDIS beeped, jolted and gave its usual grating sound as it touched down again, a comforting hum filling the room once the machine rolled to idle. Breathing in deeply, the Doctor eyed the wooden doors cautiously before straightening his bow tie.

"Wish me luck, sexy." He murmured to the console, giving it a fond pat.

The Universe hadn't yet imploded — or exploded — and the Time Lord took that as a reassuring sign.

Still, as he trotted through the door and outside, nerves hit him. He was on the Valiant, during the time the Master owned and decimated Earth. The psychopath Time Lord probably knew he was here already, yet he wasn't the one the Doctor had come for.

Gripping his screwdriver in one hand, he made his way down a deserted corridor, pausing to glance out one of the windows. Stars and blackness met his gaze, and if he looked downwards he could see fire. Hell itself. He remembered this like it was yesterday; a ball of nausea already building in the pit of his stomach. Determined though, he pushed on, feet slowly echoing down the hallway.

Finally he reached his destination; a nondescript door, which led to an equally bland room. One bed was shoved carelessly against the wall, and on it lay a curled up lump.

His hearts thudded in his chest. The figure was naked, and chained by his feet to the metal bedpost. Even from this distance, the Doctor could see how skinny the other was, the moonlight shining in from the windows illuminating his skin and displaying the bones protruding through it. Anger replaced the Time Lord's initial shock as the Oncoming Storm within him raised its head and uttered a soft growl.

No one touches /his/ Theta and gets away with it.

Moving forwards, his eyes scan over the exposed flesh, catching patches of darker skin. Bruises lay across the male's lower back like paint to a canvas; some big, some barely noticeable.

But he /did/ notice. Every single one of them.

The sound of his footsteps caused the other to shift in his sleep, eyes blinking open as panic settled onto his features, followed by confusion when he realised that it wasn't the Master.

"Who are you?" The younger male's voice was weak, scratchy, as though he hadn't eaten or drunk anything in a long while, and it made the Doctor's hearts ache.

"I'm — I'm... It doesn't matter right now, I'm here to save you." He finished lamely. They didn't have time for introductions.

"But... if the Master finds you... He'll hurt you."

Big, scared, brown eyes were staring up at him. Rassilon, his past self was adorable. And the fact that the Master, his old friend would damage him beyond recognition, made the anger surface again.

"He can try."

Flicking the screwdriver open, he broke through the chains as though they were nothing more than paper. Finally the other was free.

"C'mere..." He coaxed gently, sliding off his jacket and draping it around his younger self's shoulders. Rather than look relieved, however, Ten only blanched even more.

"No, no, no.~ What have you done? He's going to punish me now..." His voice trailed off as choked sobs took its place. Those adorable brown eyes now glinting with tears.

He could see the other trembling beneath the jacket, but felt powerless to help — any small movement closer could make the other call for security. Even now, he could see the distrust in Ten's eyes.

What had the Master done to him?


	2. Chapter 2

“Look, look at me. Can’t you see who I am? Or feel it? I’m /you/.”

“No...”

“Yes.” 

He was running out of time, as ironic as it sounded, what with him being a damn /Time Lord/ and all, but alas it was true. The Master could walk in at any moment, or send one of his loyal puppets, and that would complicate things. 

“If you don’t come with me—...” He started again, his voice quiet yet firm. “—... Rose will die.”

Eleven thought he saw a spark of recognition in the younger Time Lord’s eyes, but it quickly died again. 

“Rose is safe in a parallel universe.” Ten replied dully, slumping back against the bare mattress. 

“The Master’s ripping open the entire universe and creating a paradox, which is how I’m able to come here and see you. But something that powerful — well, it’ll ripple through to the other Universes and cause them to crumble. And the only one who can stop him, is you.”

The skinny Time Lord looked absolutely horrified at this, his body trembling even more as whatever colour he had remaining drained from his cheeks. “If that’s t-truly the case... T-Then he’s won.” 

Eleven saw him trying to scuttle away, probably to hide, and quickly placed one hand on the other’s waist, looping his arm around the lanky male and hauling him towards his chest, where he held Ten tightly. 

“No more, Theta.” He mouthed quietly. “No more running.” 

He could feel the other shivering in his arms and promptly tightened his grip, taking that as their cue to leave. 

“Where’s the Master?” 

It was a reluctant question, and Eleven almost regretted it when the younger male flinched violently, but he needed to know. Honestly, he was surprised — and suspicious — that the crazy bastard hadn’t found them yet.

“H-He’s on Earth... There’s whispers of Martha... b-but she’s dead. I know it.” 

Whatever fight he had in him, swiftly left, and he sunk against Eleven’s chest in defeat. 

“It’s just been me and him... every night...”

Scooping Ten up and into his arms, the older Time Lord grimaced at how /light/ and fragile he felt. Too breakable for someone famously known as the Oncoming Storm. Even his hair hung limply over his eyes. 

“C’mon...” He murmured gently, “Let’s get you back to the TARDIS.”

Ten didn’t fight or complain, his body ached too much for that, but his eyes were still full of fear. Curling his fingers into Eleven’s shirt, he took in a proper breath and immediately felt himself subconsciously relaxing, the scent of home and familiarity washing over him. His cheek nuzzled into the other’s chest and he allowed himself a moment of rest, eyes flickering shut.

Eleven carried him as fast as possible back through the corridors, almost bumping into an arm guard in one. Luckily the guy’s walkie talkie buzzed, and he bolted away in a hurry, calling for back up as he went. It made the Time Lord nervous — What If the Master was returning? — and he quickened his pace, relief engulfing him as the TARDIS came into view. 

The doors swung open and he carried Ten straight through them, not stopping until he was beside the console. There, Eleven carefully set the sleeping Time Lord down and fiddled with the controls, hurling them away from the Valiant and into deep space. 

Ten’s eyes blinked open at the sudden movement and he called out, “Jack! You gotta save Jack! Please...”

It was asking for trouble going back, but even he found the idea of leaving Jack to the Master’s rage unbearable and so, with much internal hesitation, he returned the coordinates to Earth. If he had them correctly, then —

“Yes!” 

On the screen he could see a very dirty — and confused — looking Jack, watching as the TARDIS materialised mere metres away. The Tenth Doctor struggled to his feet and also eyed the display, a faint smile surfacing.

“He’s okay...”

“Of course he is — Did you ever doubt that? Fixed point, remember?”

Ten grimaced. “I know... but sometimes I could hear him scream. And sometimes... I bet he heard me.” 

Avoiding Eleven’s gaze, he dropped back onto the floor and buried his face against his knees; rocking gently.


	3. Chapter 3

Eleven didn’t ask, or press for more details — it would only make him angrier, and right now he needed to remain calm. 

“Stay here.” 

He glanced down at the younger Time Lord, who was still rocking and sighed, brushing one hand over the top of Ten’s head; the tufts of hair between his fingers causing him to frown. He remembered this hair — and how /soft/ it used to be — Hell, it was his pride and joy at one point and yet, now, it just felt dry with a few patches of stickiness dotted here and there. 

Eleven’s stomach churned at the memories, his free hand momentarily gripping onto the console as he tried to focus on anything — and everything — except that year. Even now, in a completely new body, the Master still unknowingly had a hold on him. 

“Are you okay?”

Ten’s voice nudged him out of his advancing panic attack and he swallowed, his vision turning into a messy blur. 

“I’m... I’m fine.”

If he didn’t pull himself together soon, he would end up joining the younger Time Lord on the floor. As it were, he suddenly found Ten in front of him, still wearing nothing except the jacket he had given earlier. Two soft palms cupped his cheeks and he focused on the warmth seeping into his skin. 

“It’s okay... I’ve got you.”

Ten always was the emotional one, even when he himself was suffering. Eleven could see the pain and sadness in his eyes. The sparkle they always carried was also gone. Would he ever see it again?

He placed his own hands over the other Time Lord’s and gave a somewhat forced smile. 

“I’m okay, let’s go save Jack.”

Giving a shaky nod, Ten dropped his hands and broke the contact between them both, leaving Eleven feeling cold. He wanted to grab them again and wrap them around himself, but that was wrong, wasn’t it? 

“Alright.” Keen to change the subject and get a distraction from his own thoughts, he turned towards the wooden doors. “You stay here. If the Master comes or chaos descends upon the place, fly the Hell away and find safety.”

 

The skinny Time Lord stared at him blankly. “I... don’t know how.”

“What?”

Ten bit his lip. “I don’t know how to fly the TARDIS...”

Now it was Eleven’s turn to stare, but he quickly snapped out of it and headed onto the deck of the Valiant. 

“Sorry.” Ten whispered, wrapping the jacket tightly around himself.

He watched on the screen as the older version of him freed Jack, something he had failed to do. Would Jack hate him for being so useless? 

The Master’s words from one of their nightly ‘sessions’ filled his mind.

/You need me, Theta. Without me, you’d have failed the Academy. Failed at being a Time Lord. And what use would you be then? You killed our kind and destroyed Gallifrey. You’re nothing more than a monster. A rabid dog that needs putting down./

He flinched as each word hit him like a punch to the face. Glancing once at the doorway, he turned tail and sprinted off down a corridor, weaving deeper and deeper into the TARDIS until he found what he was looking for. 

The pool.

The water shimmered and sparkled under the dim overhead lights, and it almost looked... inviting. Walking forwards, he slipped off the jacket and discarded it on the stone tiles, his feet silent as he padded towards the edge of the pool. 

He could see his reflection for the first time in a year, his skin patchy and hollow as it clung to his cheeks, a bruise covering one eye, and it made him nauseous. 

He really was a monster, inside and out. Is that what his future self saw every time he looked at him? What would Jack think? 

But as he watched the water gently rippling at his feet, he knew he could escape it, once and for all. Turning his back towards the pool, he took a deep breath and allowed himself to drop into the water. The coldness immediately sunk into his bones, but he didn’t protest or fight it. 

Instead, he simply let himself sink to the bottom, his thoughts turning peaceful. He was doing them both a favour, really. Releasing them of his burden. Besides, with the other, less useless version of him around, he wasn’t needed. 

And deep down, that broke his hearts.


	4. Chapter 4

Jack was just entering the TARDIS when Eleven tripped, stumbling and falling into one of the doors. His hand went to his throat and he stared at the Captain in fear, barely able to gasp out.

“Find Ten! He’s done something, I can /feel/ it!”

The Immortal nodded and dashed away, having absolutely no idea where he was going to find his Doctor. As though wanting to help, the TARDIS led him directly to the pool — where all was silent.

“Doctor? Are you here?”

His arms — in fact, his entire /body/ — ached, but as soon as his gaze landed on the dark form beneath the water, all of that was swiftly forgotten. 

“DOCTOR!”

He didn’t bother wasting time removing his clothes and instead dived straight into the pool, chlorine burning his eyes as he dipped beneath the surface and grabbed Ten’s unmoving body. Hauling it back into the open, he wrapped one arm around the skinny Time Lord and used the other to bring them both back to the edge, where an extremely pissed off Eleven was waiting. He lifted the motionless Doctor out of the cold water, voice as equally icy. 

“I am going to /kill/ him!”

“That’s a bit harsh—...” Jack started, but the Time Lord quickly cut him off. 

“Not Ten, the Master! For doing this to him!”

“Oh, well. I’ll /gladly/ help you with that then.”

Turning the younger Doctor onto his back, Eleven cupped his cheek before giving it a light smack. Ten twitched but didn’t stir. 

“Shouldn’t we do CPR or something?”

“Time Lords are different to humans. He’s gone into a trance and we need to wake him up.” 

“Maybe I can help.”

Before Eleven could even open his mouth to ask — or protest — Jack was leaning down and kissing Ten on the lips, something which made the elder Time Lord scowl as a pang of jealousy shot through his veins. 

He wasn’t surprised, not at all. Everyone who met Jack knew what he was like, but still. Seeing the Immortal kissing Ten made him bitter. 

And much to his annoyance — it worked. The skinny male coughed several times before slowly opening his eyes, gaze on the ceiling. He felt numb inside and his lungs ached. Clearly this was not death. 

“You’re okay!” Jack burst out, relief visible on his features. “I thought you’d died!”

“I wish...” Ten mumbled.

Noticing that the younger Time Lord was fully naked again, Eleven stood up and grabbed his jacket, carefully laying it over Ten’s bruised body. The last thing he wanted was the ex-Time agent staring. 

“Jack, can you carry him to one of the bedrooms please?”

He knew he should say something directly to Ten, but words wouldn’t form on his tongue. He was hurt, angry, still jealous and confused. And the other wasn’t speaking to him, either. 

“Sure thing.” The Captain replied, gently scooping his Doctor into his arms. “Aren’t you coming too?”

Eleven gave a half hearted shrug, eyes on the floor where Ten lay moments prior. “Later. I have to get the TARDIS off the Valiant first.” He paused, voice heavy. “Plus he knows you more than me. He’ll feel safer with you around. I’m not even meant to be here.” 

 

If Jack saw the sadness in his eyes, he politely kept quiet. Giving Eleven a small nod, he turned tail and padded out of the room, leaving the older Time Lord to question if he was doing the right thing or not.


	5. Chapter 5

He wasn’t /avoiding/ Ten, that was a ridiculous notion, he just had stuff to do, like making sure the Master couldn’t follow them or drag the TARDIS back to Earth. Important things, really.

However, Jack wasn’t buying it. 

He stood in the console room with his arms crossed and stared at the older version of his Doctor, who was looking a little too closely at the screen in front of him.

“How is he?” Eleven asked gingerly, poking the display and frowning.

“Why don’t you go and see for yourself?”

“I will soon... but first I have to do... this. Very important.”

“He could have /died/! Doesn’t that affect you?”

Eleven’s eyes flashed dangerously. “Yes, but he didn’t because you kissed him back to life. Good job.”

Jack snorted. “Oh, I get it. You’re jealous... of yourself.”

Pushing the screen away with more force than necessary, the Time Lord simply stared in disbelief. 

“No. I definitely do /not/ want to kiss you, thanks. Ugh.”

It took him 2.5 seconds to realise that he should have kept his mouth firmly shut and by then it was too late. 

“So you want to kiss yourself, huh?” Jack said with a snicker. “I mean, I totally wouldn’t blame you. He’s sex on legs.”

“I wonder if that’s what the Master thought as well?”

The Captain’s expression immediately turned sour. “I don’t know what that bastard did to him.” He growled, “But I heard his screams. Every damn night.”

Eleven just stared, face pale.

“But you know, don’t you? You’ve lived all this before... And fuck, it must have been pure agony for you to come back and change things.”

“Being around him makes it all fuzzy. Almost like a dream... Or should I say, /nightmare/.” The Time Lord admitted coldly. “But I remember laying in bed and wishing that someone would come... to either save me or end it all.” 

He cleared his throat after a moment of silence and combed a hand through his hair.   
“Anyway, I better go and check on him.”

“Good, because he’s been asking for you.”

Eleven was sure his hearts skipped a beat at this, yet he managed to keep a somewhat neutral expression on his face.

“Well then.” He said with a small smile. “Better not keep myself waiting. Don’t touch anything while I’m gone, Captain.”

 

xXx

Eleven admired Jack under all of his bitterness. The Immortal was still reasonably bubbly — even after being tortured by the Master for a year. How did he do that? It made the Time Lord wonder what else the Captain had been through over the years. 

He realised now that he had never really asked, more keen to run away and start a new adventure than spend time with his friend.

Before the guilt could properly sink in, he promised himself that he would probe Jack about his life later.

But first, he had Ten to deal with.

Carefully nudging the bedroom door open, he poked his head around the edge and eyed his previous self laying on top of the mattress. A glass of juice sat on the nightstand, though it was mostly untouched.

It was unnerving seeing himself so... lifeless. Eleven remembered his past life well — both the good and bad bits — and keeping still was not one of his many strengths. Yet, here Ten was, as motionless as the night he had found him. 

At least he was safe now.

Creeping into the room, Eleven padded over to the bed and sat down on one side. Ten shot up and scanned the room in a panicked frenzy before realising that it wasn’t the Master. Eyes still wild and hair unkempt, he turned his gaze towards the other and swallowed. 

“Hi.”

“Hi. How are you feeling?”

The skinnier Time Lord flopped back onto the pillows. “Numb. Tired. Empty.”

“That’s understandable. You’ve been through literal Hell.”

“Yeah, and no one came to save me.”

Ten’s voice sounded different, all traces of warmth having completely disappeared. He sounded more dead and dejected than Eleven would have liked. 

“I did.” 

The younger male laughed — or sneered, it was hard to tell — and closed his eyes. 

“You’re /me/. I basically saved myself. How pathetic is that?”

He rolled onto his side, back to Eleven and fell silent. Clearly the conversation was over, but the older Time Lord didn’t want to leave him alone just yet. 

“Why are you angry at me?” 

“M’not.”

“Then what is it?”

Gripping onto the pillow, Ten was torn between pulling it over his head or smacking the other version of him with it. Couldn’t Eleven see that he wanted to be alone? 

“Please...”

That one word and the tone it was carried in broke the younger male, and he found himself reluctantly saying:

“You’re going to put me back on Earth and leave, aren’t you?”

Eleven should have said /yes/, because the two of them couldn’t possibly exist in one timeline forever, but instead he shook his head into a firm /no./

“Definitely not.” 

“But—“

“No buts.”

Ten sighed tiredly. “Where’s Jack? I want a hug.” 

The elder Time Lord faltered. “Can’t I give you one?” 

“You really want to push the Universe’s limits, don’t you?”

Eleven’s mouth twitched into a boyish smile. “Always.”

“Mmm... Alright. Just once though.” 

He shuffled over to let the other Time Lord join him on the soft mattress, then immediately rested his cheek against Eleven’s chest. Hearing the two heartbeats relaxed him, even though they were technically his, and he slowed his own breathing to match them.

Feeling the other’s arms around his waist, he gradually stopped caring about how weird it was and simply enjoyed the contact. Each soft touch from the older Doctor helped soothe his many bruises and as soon as he felt Eleven’s fingers in his hair, he was out like a light; soft snores filling the room.


End file.
